November 25, 2020

Wellington Phoenix makes UOW permanent training base

Football club to utilise campus facilities throughout the 2020/21 A-League season

The University of Wollongong (UOW) welcomes the announcement today by A-League football club, Wellington Phoenix of its decision to make UOW its Australian training base for the forthcoming 2020/21 season.

The announcement follows a successful pre-season, high-performance training camp using the University’s Wollongong Campus Sports Hub and High-Performance Training facilities since 1 November 2020.

UOW Vice-Chancellor Paul Wellings CBE welcomed the Wellington Phoenix to the Wollongong Campus, assuring them the University would continue to provide a high-quality training environment for the team and was proud to add the Phoenix partnership to UOW’s growing list of sporting partnerships.

“We welcome Wellington Phoenix’s decision to continue training at UOW for the season. The University of Wollongong has had a longstanding commitment to combining education with sports by supporting local, regional sports and by partnering with elite Australian and international sports clubs such as the Wellington Phoenix,” Professor Wellings said.

L-R: Alex Rufer, Jeremy Wilshire (Destination Wollongong), Ufuk Talay, Matthew Spicer (Venues NSW), Ann-Marie Balliana (CEO, Football South Coast), Professor Alex Frino, Kerry Hunt (Wollongong City Council), David Ball, Marc Swan (Venues NSW) Photo: Paul Jones

Wellington Phoenix Head Coach, Ufuk Talay, says that he has been impressed with UOW and their provision of world-class facilities and support to the club.

“The team here at UOW has been great, very accommodating and have made us feel at home – their training grounds are top-notch and provide us everything we need.

“Some of the players will now move into their own accommodation around the Wollongong area, while others will choose to stay at UOW.

“We’re excited to be based here and we’re looking forward to the locals getting in behind the team.”

UOW has sports partnerships with English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, offering the UOW Tottenham Hotspur Global Football Program and with the Crusaders Rugby Union offering the UOW Crusaders Global Rugby Program.

These programs offer players the opportunity to study a UOW qualification, while also developing their football or rugby skills with training provided by fully qualified coaches from Tottenham Hotspur and the Crusaders.

Andy Rogers, Tottenham Hotspur’s Head of Global Football Development, said the UOW Global Football Program greatly benefits students wishing to improve their football skills while pursuing a degree.

“We are proud of our partnership with UOW. The best-in-class training facilities and programs provided by UOW complement the benefits that UOW Global Football Program has to provide. The program offers a unique opportunity for students to develop their football skills while pursuing a degree of their choice. Many students have benefited from this program offering,” Mr Rogers said.

UOW also has had a longstanding partnership with the St George Illawarra Dragons for both its NRL and Women’s NRL teams and the highly successful Graduates of League program.

The University considers the health and safety of students, staff and community as its utmost priority. All the physical activities on campus are performed under strict health and safety requirements outlined in UOW’s COVID safe plan.